20 Satisfying Winter Salads to Eat for Dinner

During the summer I instituted a salad night in my meal plan, and it was glorious. It meant a wholesome, veggie-packed dinner — sometimes with meat or beans or grains — that was super easy to pull together. Plus, it helped me clear out the crisper.

Summer is long gone, but my salad nights are not. Here are some of the favorites cycling through my meal plan this winter.

Winter is prime time for super-hearty greens, like kale, collards, and beet greens, and I love taking advantage of them for dinner salads. Even if a recipe doesn’t call for them, go ahead and swap them in for delicate lettuces or spinach.

• Tuna & Cucumber Quinoa Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
• Warm Fajita Steak Salad
• Kale Bistro Salad
• Broccoli and Kale Caesar Salad
• Jersey Salad
• Vegetarian Kale Taco Salad
• Honey Mustard Chicken Tender Salad

I always like to remind myself that salad is not synonymous with leafy greens. The two do not have to go hand in hand — any vegetable can play the part of salad base. Any type of spiralized veggies, broccoli slaw, and roasted veggies all make great options.

• Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Chickpeas, Feta, and Herbs
• Zucchini Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Tofu and Broccoli Salad with Peanut Butter Dressing
• Roasted Delicata Squash Salad with Warm Pickled Onion Dressing

I eat grain salads year-round, but I especially love them during the winter months. Toothsome farro, quinoa, and bulgur are great picks to give your dinner salad some heft to make it even more satisfying and filling.

• Couscous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries
• Warm Beet and Farro Salad
• Green Goddess Quinoa Salad Bowl
• Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad

Not only are beans and lentils packed with a punch of protein, but they also have a meaty texture that instantly makes salads taste more substantial.

• Thanksgiving Lentil Salad
• Warm Bulgur and Lentil Salad with Roasted Shrimp
• Chopped Chickpea Salad
• Honey-Garlic Chopped Chickpea Salad
• Tomato and Feta White Bean Salad